You need
to have been born
for any higher world;

to say it more clearly,
you need to have been bred for it:

only your descent, your ancestry can give you a right
to philosophy – taking that word in its highest sense.
Even here, “bloodline” is decisive.

The preparatory labor of many generations
is needed for a philosopher to come about;
each of his/her virtues
needs to have been individually acquired, cared for,
passed down, and incorporated:
and not only
the bright, light, gentle gait and course of his/her thoughts,
but above all the eagerness for great responsibilities,
the sovereignty of his/her ruling gazes and downward gazes,
the feeling of separation from the crowd
with its duties and virtues,
the genial protection and defense
of anything misunderstood and slandered,
whether it is god or devil,
the pleasure and practice in great justice,

the art of command, the expanse of the will,
the slow eye
that hardly ever admires,
hardly ever looks up,
hardly ever loves . . .

Beyond Good and Evil, by Friedrich Nietzsche, trans. by Judith Butler, aphorism 213

Philosophy is an “acquired taste,” by no means interesting for everyone. That’s obvious. With these lines Nietzsche describes the origin of interest, of a passion for philosophy. Breeding, ancestry, and blood are terms which he uses. A fascination with philosophical problems, the quandaries, according to Nietzsche, is no pursuit promising social status or success measured by a robust investment portfolio.

Philosophy has prompted me to reflect upon my heritage, the inclinations, strengths, ineptness too, the layered spectrum of personality traits which came as a consequence of random chance of birth. Upbringing too figures in. “Virtues” individually acquired, cared for, and passed down.

It seems to me that the process and the demeanor of the person which Nietzsche describes could/should not be “professionalized” credentialed by higher education. The “Doctor of philosophy” degree amounts to a constraint, a routinization, a domestication, a mind-cage, contrary to roaming, to experiencing, in order to express what everyone else desires not to know.

Consider for a moment a man or woman who courageously, with good will, and with a degree of disinterest rises to defend what a majority misunderstands, or even slanders…

Philosophy by these lights is a destiny, a manner of life distinct from the American-way of fandom and consumption.  Think about it.

At times do you find yourself disposed to “the slow eye that hardly ever admires, hardly ever looks up, hardly ever loves”?

Am I, was I, natural born for this?